Samsung Just Released the Gear Fit2 Fitness Tracker With an Entirely Water-Resistant Body

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Samsung's freshly unveiled Gear Fit2 fitness band is an important product for the tech giant. Announced last week at a glitzy event that included the likes of Diplo and Gwen Stefani, the gadget is designed to conquer the constantly growing market for dedicated fitness trackers, currently dominated by Fitbit.

As its name suggests, the Samsung Gear Fit2 is a successor to the to the Gear Fit that debuted back in 2014. Naturally, the newcomer features considerably improved hardware and available features, headed by even larger curved display, built-in GPS tracker, and waterproof construction, among others.

Tech Bits You Need to Know

The Samsung Gear Fit2 packs a 1.5-inch curved Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 432 by 216 pixels. The device has a dual-core CPU, 1.5GB of RAM, and 4GB of built-in memory, which can be used to store music.

The device connects to a compatible smartphone via Bluetooth 4.2. its compact body is brimming with sensors that include a heart-rate monitor, GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, and a barometer.

Just like its predecessor, the Gear Fit2 runs Samsung's Tizen OS. That's the same software platform that the tech giant uses for its smartwatches, so the fitness band can deliver notifications from the connected smartphone.

Samsung Gear Fit2 weighs an ounce. Its 200mAh battery can last up to five days on a single charge. The device has IP68 rating, which ensures that it can be submerged in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes.

In order to take advantage of the band and its extensive functionality, Android smartphone users need to install Samsung's S Health app. The latter comes preloaded on all top-shelf smartphones made by the tech giant.

Live Impressions

The design of Samsung Gear Fit2 is almost entirely dominated by its gorgeous curved Super AMOLED display. With vibrant colors and infinite contrast, the screen is arguably the best in its class. It is also considerably larger than that of the outgoing model.

The silicone band of the wearable comes in two sizes (small and large) and has discreet texture. Samsung offers the Gear Fit2 in three colors: black, blue, and magenta.

Seamless and comfortable fit is another major trait of the Gear Fit2 that makes a strong impression. Because of its lightweight body and comfy silicone band, it is easy to forget that you are wearing the device. That's exactly how a fitness tracker should feel, especially considering that its maker wants you to wear it as long as possible to record the most accurate results.

The build quality of the Gear Fit2 is excellent. Its screen is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass, so it is scratch-resistant, while the silicone bands are removable, thus allowing users to swap them in case of wear or damage. The waterproof body on the other hand, adds further peace of mind when wearing it.

After a week of wearing the Gear Fit2 non-stop, we were really impressed with its battery life. The gadget easily made it through three full days of heavy use that included tracking workouts, delivering frequent smartphone notifications (emails, texts, IM, and social network updates), and automatically tracking heart rate. This means that more moderate usage will result in endurance that will come close to the manufacturer's claims.

Apps will also be available for the device, including Spotify. The latter is the result of a collaboration between Samsung and the music streaming giant.

Because it runs the same OS as Samsung's smartwatches, the Gear Fit2 allows user to change its watch faces. The available ones range from understated options, all the way to picks designed to deliver essential fitness information.

Fitness Tracking

Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Gear Fit2 features a large repertoire of fitness-tracking abilities. Those range from counting the user's steps, through the amount of floors climbed and calories burned, all the way to delivering detailed summary of runs, including their map thanks to the device's GPS chip.

When it comes to tracking exercises, there is an option to choose the type of activity, or let the band detect it automatically. Ending each exercise ends with a summary that includes its duration, calories burned, and heart-rate data.

Samsung's S Health app is an essential component of the experience. It synthesizes all the fitness tracking data into a beautiful graphical interface that's easy to read and understand by anyone.

The app will also reward users for reaching goals, as well as allow them to interact and compete with friends who also use it. It can also guide users to their health and fitness goals, regardless of their level of difficulty.

Wrapping Up

It took Samsung more than two years to release a Gear Fit successor and the tech giant has used the time well. The Gear Fit2 is better and more capable than its predecessor in every conceivable way. It is also easily one of the best fitness bands available today.

The most important bit about the gadget is its ease of use. Thanks to its beautiful large screen and simple, gesture-driven interface, everyone can get a hold of the Gear Fit2 quickly. The customizable user interface on the other hand allows users to easily tweak the experience according to their preferences and fitness level.

Our only gripe with the Gear Fit2 is its lack of compatibility with the Apple iPhone, thus limiting its availability only to users of Android smartphones for the time being. Samsung, however, is working hard to deliver the functionality in the near future.

Priced at $180, the Gear Fit2 is a direct competitor to the likes of the Microsoft Band 2 and a horde of similarly priced offerings from the likes of Fitbit, Garmin, and Polar, among others. The Microsoft Band 2 in particular comes closest to the Samsung Gear Fit2 in terms of available functionality and notifications. However, it is bulkier, not fully waterproof, and with inferior battery life.

By offering a combination of a fully waterproof body, ability to deliver all smartphone notifications, GPS, and excellent battery life, the Gear Fit2 deserves our nod. Buyers who don't care about GPS tracking can also look into buying a more "conventional" smartwatch, including Samsung's own Gear S2 lineup.

Stefan VazharovSenior Technology EditorStefan is the senior technology editor for BestProducts.com, where he’s been covering the tech industry and testing the latest gadgets since 2015; He previously covered tech products for GSMArena.com and his work can also be found on Popular Mechanics.